


we all know (but the teachers don't)

by volunteer_of_hufflepuff



Series: our lives (in this institution) [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, Catholic School, Fluff, Homophobia, Imogen and Aldertree are idiots, M/M, Malec are sweet though, Tickle Fights, and quite domestic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 00:45:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14176905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volunteer_of_hufflepuff/pseuds/volunteer_of_hufflepuff
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, same-sex relationships do exist in Catholic schools.It's just, well, not spoken about.At the all guy school St Aloysius, the main unspoken couple is Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood.And when some teachers find out - well, there's a reason why they were kept in the dark.





	we all know (but the teachers don't)

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I had based off, one, seeing this Catholic School AU for Malec - it looks really good, I'm just (sh) waiting for it to finish first - but also my own experiences as a Catholic student.
> 
> I've based Malec's situation off a couple who everyone knew about (they're cute, also interracial) and, well, hopefully, you enjoy this certainly unique story.
> 
> TW: There is mention of conversion therapy; skip the section from _fatal last words_ to _are you ok?_
> 
> If there are any other potential triggers present, please let me know!

__

_"Did God ever say anything explicitly against same-sex relationships, or is what the Bible says just a product of society's prejudice at the time it was written? After all, the Bible - a collection of stories told over millennia by a multitude of authors - also had a say in how women should be treated, and we all know that was wrong."_

\- Jocelyn Fairchild.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Did you hear about -"_

_"That couple in Juniors?"_

_"Yes - the eldest Lightwood and -"_

_"Magnus Bane?"_

_"They're so cute!"_

_"Sh, be quiet, Aldertree is coming."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Jace stared listlessly at the clock.

Could it go any slower?

And do his classmates mind? He turned around to glare at them just to make sure that they had shut their traps.

Most teachers are ok with it - it is the 21st century, after all, - but, unfortunately, there's several who are still prejudiced gits.

And one of them is wandering around this classroom right now, strolling as if he owns the world.

"Herondale?"

Jace winced.  _Lightwood,_ he wanted to growl - his adoptive family has done so much more for him than his distant, icy grandmother ever has.

But, well, then it would get back to his grandmother - who is the intimidating Vice Principal of St Aloysius - and wouldn't that be grand.

"Have you finished your work or are you just idly procrastinating, as usual?" Aldertree asked, his jibe slightly less condescending than usual.

Jace had to remind himself to not roll his eyes.

That hadn't exactly gone down well last time.

"Yes, sir," he replied stiffly, showing Aldertree his neat, impeccable work.

Just because he was a jock didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't also capable in the classroom.

Ah well.

It could be worse - his grandmother could be his teacher, he thought, shuddering.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Duncan?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Please get out of my classroom and report to the Principal immediately for a breach of the school's code of conduct."_

_"For what?"_

_"Discrimination against sexuality. What you just said was horrific. Apologise now!"_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

It wasn't the first time and it certainly wasn't the last time that someone had discriminated against him for his sexuality.

Magnus wasn't exactly subtle.

Alec - comparatively - was, but he still was in an open same-sex relationship.

But, well -

No matter how many times he heard that word, it still bit at his heart, running away into the darkness with a piece which he would never get back.

It wasn't like he and Alec were full on snogging in the cafeteria as Jace did anytime Clary visited.

But -

Hand holding was clearly too much.

Because - they were both boys.

Well, Magnus thought, as Ms Fairchild told Duncan off, it could be worse - but it could also be better.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Mr Lightwood."_

_"Mrs Penhallow."_

_"We've got to stop meeting like this."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Suffice to say, Robert Lightwood wasn't a big fan of homosexuals.

(And yes, he was aware that his son was one and yes, he still loved him but - that didn't mean he approved of it.)

"Who did Jace punch this time?" he asked, weary.

Jia shook her head. "It wasn't Jace. Or Alec," she said hurriedly in response to Robert's rapidly forming scowl, "but this is simply something I think you should be aware of before you take your son home. I'd just like to start off with that neither of your sons - or Magnus Bane - is at fault here."

"We at St Aloysius," Jia began stiffly yet enthusiastically, "accept everyone who identifies as male. We understand that as a Catholic - as a Christian, and further religious - institution, that people expect us to be prejudiced against a lot of things. Including people who are LGBT+. Which we strive not to be; unfortunately, some of our staff and students still have a lot to learn."

"Alright," Robert said slowly, tightening his tie, "and what does this have to do with my sons?"

"You know that your son, Alec," she paused, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

Robert sighed. "Is in a relationship with Magnus Bane, yes, I am aware."

"Well, two teachers have recently taken it upon themselves to - to try and fix the boys. It's all horrible business, really, and of course, both teachers have been fired immediately, this is definitely not the first mark against either of them, it only happened this afternoon -"

"Oh, God," Robert whispered, his face paling. He wasn't warm or fuzzy about his son's sexuality but he would never, never -

"Tell me what happened. Tell me who did it - please, Jia."

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Are you ok?"_

_"'M fine."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Magnus reached out and linked his hand with Alec's, leaning a little against his boyfriend as they entered the secluded courtyard.

"Do you want to sit with Jace today - or, you know, play soccer with him?" Magnus asked as guilt started to seep in. Had he been preventing Alec from interacting with his friends -

"Nah," Alec said, smiling. "I spend enough time with him at home. Today," he whispered, leaning forward close enough that Magnus could see the shards of gold in his eyes, "I want to be with you."

So beautiful, simple and stunningly honest. As always.

Magnus sat down on the grass, his legs sprawled across the ground, and Alec sat down carefully next to him.

"What d'you have?" Alec asked curiously as Magnus opened his thermos, the absence of his own lunch not unusual but annoying.

"Just some chicken soup and noodles. Nothing special. Unlike you," he whispered, and, yeah, maybe they were a little bit sappy. Nothing wrong with that.

Alec quickly scanned the courtyard - not a lot of people came here, so they had the place to themselves for the moment.

"I think you're mistaken," Alec said, his eyes flickering back and forth between Magnus' eyes and lips, "that's you."

The kiss was chaste, domestic even - they had been dating for a little over a year now - and they were at school, so that was about it, but it still made Magnus melt.

The haters could go away - Magnus had an amazing boyfriend, and he wasn't going to give him up for anything, especially not over petty, wrong words.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Duncan. We don't tolerate that kind of language at our school."_

_"But that's what they are!"_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Jia sighed. "Detention. For the next fortnight."

Duncan scowled but didn't protest.

"Maybe you're just jealous," she added, her voice softer. "Whatever this is, cut it out. This is the 21st century - your prejudices say so much more about you than they could ever say about the people you are unfairly prejudiced against."

"But Mrs Herondale said-"

"I don't care what Mrs Herondale said. It was wrong, unacceptable, especially if you thought that using that word was appropriate. Hopefully, I won't see you here again unless it's for something positive, Duncan."

Duncan walked off, his sullen "yes, Mrs Penhallow," enveloped by Jia's bubbling concern. What was her staff doing?

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"It's unnatural, disgusting."_

_"I know."_

_"We should do something about it."_

_"I thought they were just friends."_

_"Raj told me otherwise."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Imogen felt like puking.

There were  _gays_. At her school.

And one of them was  _best friends_ with her grandson.

Disgusting, impure -

Well, she and Victor could take care of that.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"They're adorable. Really."_

_"Just - be quiet, Mrs Herondale is over there!"_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Did people really have nothing better to talk about other than his brother's romantic relationship?

Apparently not.

Jace, exasperated, tapped the taller boy not so gently on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," he said pointedly, "but I'm right here."

The boy's eyes widened.

"Why don't we all play soccer instead of evaluating my brother's love life, ok?" Jace said, clapping him on the back.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"They were eating lunch, Robert; that's it. Hand holding, sure, but it wasn't like they were making out or something like that-"_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Magnus laughed at Alec's pout.

"I asked for a taste of your soup," Alec muttered, "not an eyeful."

"Well," Magnus said, shrugging, "you're the one who moved, not me."

Alec's eyes glinted. "It's on, Bane."

"With what? You wouldn't want to dent my face, would you, and this grass is fake," Magnus said, putting his thermos down.

"I think I can be creative enough." Alec started to crawl towards Magnus. "You've forgotten that I know you very," his voice dropped, "very well."

Alec's breath hit Magnus' ear and Magnus shivered. "Where are you ticklish again?'

Magnus' eyes widened. Oh no.

Alec started to tickle his ribs. "You know," he said nonchalantly, "love comes with a price."

Magnus looked up, breathless with laughter. "What?"

"Me knowing where you are ticklish," Alec replied as he pressed down on the small of Magnus' back, sending his boyfriend into a helpless fit of laughter.

Junior year was undoubtedly stressful, but this was nice; goofing off with his boyfriend, acting like little kids.

"I'll get you back later," Magnus snapped half-heartedly.

Alec relented for a second. "Yeah, but what matters is now."

They couldn't have known what was lingering around the corner.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"They're here."_

_"Thank you, Raj."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Alec could see Magnus' makeup from here.

It was very subtle. There wasn't any  _official_ rule against makeup - unlike at Izzy's school - but it was better to be safe than sorry.

There was a little mascara, as well as thin yet vivid eyeliner. A dash of golden eyeshadow, but no foundation.

Alec sighed. Magnus really was beautiful.

After recovering from Alec's tickle attack, Magnus had reopened his thermos and was now quietly sipping at his soup, their hands entwined, the silence welcoming and warm.

Before he had met Magnus, Alec had thought that this type of happiness wasn't for him.

His parents' reactions had been nowhere near as bad as he had anticipated.

Life was great and -

Alec was literally shaken out of his thoughts by a rough hand.

What on Earth -

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\ 

_"Good game, Lightwood."_

_"Thanks. I think I'll go track down my lovesick brother now."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Lunchtime soccer was fun; it was gruelling, yet exciting and free in a way official soccer matches (and for that matter, training) rarely were.

Ironically, even though whispers of his brother had followed him everywhere today, he hadn't seen Alec yet, having slept past his alarm, waking up as Alec slammed the door.

Being late had  _not_ improved Mr Aldertree's mood.

Ah well. As he walked away from the pitch, Jace idly reflected on how nice it was that his brother was happy and how no one and nothing was either stopping his happiness or punishing him for it.

Fatal last words.

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Good afternoon, Alec."_

_"Mr Aldertree! What has Jace done this time?"_

_"I think, the question is not about the shining merit of my grandson, but of the great sin both of you have committed."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

"Excuse me?" asked Magnus, his hand still as he twisted his thermos close. "What, exactly, are you insinuating, Mrs Herondale? I know for a fact that neither of us has broken the 10 Commandments," Alec snorted, "or broken any of the school rules, for that matter."

Muttering under her breath about insolent teenagers, Mrs Herondale whipped out an old book from her blazer -  _School Rules, 1901._

 _Oh_ , Alec thought, his stomach dropping. Is this conversation leading to where he thinks it is?

"Here." Mrs Herondale pointed out a rule down the bottom of the page. " _No homosexual relationships allowed._ "

In any other situation, Alec would have laughed at how outdated it was - Magnus was bi, after all, and they had had great fun at finding loopholes in archaic laws because of it - but this wasn't funny at all.

"Mrs Herondale, this book was published over a century ago," Magnus pointed out politely. 

Magnus' words did nothing to discern the maniacal glint in Mrs Herondale's eyes. "I don't care."

Mr Aldertree coughed.

"Well, we don't care," she amended. "Now," she said, her voice dropping, becoming both softer yet at the same time infinitely sharper, "would both of you like to go on a retreat? Separately, of course."

Alec stared in horror at the pamphlets; ones that were buried in his darkest nightmares.  _Conversion booklets_.

"We've got it all planned out," Mr Aldertree added in cheerfully.

Magnus stood up, smoothing his clothes out and offered his hand out to Alec.

"I don't think so, young man," Mr Aldertree snapped. "We've got this place surrounded."

"Why?" Alec finally asked, after having noticed Duncan, Raj and several others ringing the courtyard.

"Because," Mrs Herondale said, "if no one else is brave enough to do this, we will."

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_this looks odd, thought Jace, all these students - and teachers - surrounding Alec and Magnus._

_so he went the other way and brought the security guards with him._

_better safe than sorry._

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Jace stared at the scene in front of him in horror.

Two boys were flanking Magnus and Alec _each_ \- and, oh, wasn't Jace grateful for their school's no gun policy now. Though no guns didn't mean no harm.

Luckily, it wasn't his job to put a stop to this storm.

"Stop," the security guards demanded, walking fearlessly into the fray. "Let go of them and come here now."

Alec looked shaken; Magnus looked nonplussed, but he had always been better at hiding his emotions.

And, oh, was that -

"Jace!"

Jace sucked in a breath. "Don't talk to me ever again, Imogen. My brother and Magnus are better people than you'll ever be."

As the students and teachers swept passed them with their hands behind their backs, Alec turned around and buried his head in Magnus' shoulder, a slight tremor visibly racing up and down his body.

"Oh, guys, I'm so sorry," Jace said, staring blankly at the colourful conversion brochure, which was lying innocently on the ground.

"Don't be," Magnus replied, though his eyes were a little wet, "it's not your fault."

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Are you ok?"_

_"I will be."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Magnus and Alec didn't have to attend classes for the rest of the day.

They were waiting for someone to pick them up - probably Alec's father, surprisingly, as both their mothers were too busy - curled up around each other in the sickbay.

"Hey," Alec said softly, "they're going to fire them. And expel the boys. Ok, maybe not expel them, but severely punish them. I know you're used to prejudice, but that doesn't make it ok and doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Are you ok?"

Magnus smiled weakly. "I will be. As long as you're with me."

"I'm not going anywhere, Magnus," Alec muttered against Magnus' shoulder.

With a shaky laugh, Magnus said, "Neither am I."

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Thank you."_

_"You shouldn't have to thank me."_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Jace lingered near the sickbay's door, unsure whether to enter or not.

"Hi, Jace." Seems like Alec decided for him.

"Hey."

"Magnus is in the bathroom," Alec said in response to Jace's puzzled look.

The tension was thick and uncomfortable; hell, if Jace reached out with his hand right now, he would swear that he could touch it.

"Thank you," Alec said, fiddling with the blue blanket wrapped around him.

Jace laughed bitterly. "You shouldn't have to thank me. This world shouldn't be this messed up."

"It shouldn't," Alec agreed, his face solemn, "but as long as we all have each other, we'll get through our reality."

"Hopefully," Jace said, crouching down to pull Alec in for a tight hug. "Hopefully."

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"That's what happened."_

_"Can I sue them?"_

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Jia sighed. It felt like the only thing she had been doing all day. "Of course you can sue them. It's unlikely they will ever get jobs again, of course. Abducting minors is a major infraction, as is harassment, especially to that extent."

"Good," Robert replied blankly. "Can I pick them up?"

He wasn't overly fond of Magnus, but no one deserved this.

(Also, Alec wouldn't talk to him for weeks if he refused to help Magnus too.)

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

_"Ok?"_

_"I'm ok if I'm with you._

/.\\./.\\./.\\./.\

Magnus broke the silence with quiet words. "Alec?"

They were sitting around at Alec's house, simply enjoying each other's presence after such a horrific afternoon, criticising Brooklyn Nine-Nine as the episodes rolled by (not that, of course, there was much to criticise in the first place).

"Yeah?" Alec said, looking at Magnus with a grin and his hair slightly mussed. 

"I love you."

"So do I," Alec said, scooting closer to cuddle with Magnus. "Now, Rosa's coming out scene is coming up, be quiet."

Today could have been so much worse, and it had been terrible - Magnus had known that some of the people at his school were homophobic, but not to that extent.

But cuddling up with Alec, eating cheesy popcorn which Alec kept on shushing him about, Magnus felt like he could take on the world.

 _Screw you,_ Magnus thought.  _You don't have your jobs anymore and I have an amazing boyfriend._

Well, now everyone knew. 

And those who weren't ok with it?

Could quite honestly go fu -

"MAGNUS! Concentrate, come on, I know you like this bit!"

Well, they could leave him alone in his healthy relationship with his loving boyfriend. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you've enjoyed - the research was my life (and, ok, what I've read).
> 
> Again, comments and kudos are always appreciated.


End file.
